Apparatus for instruction in rope



July 16, 1963 J. H. ROHDENBURG 3,097,474

APPARATUS FOR INSTRUCTION IN ROPE SPLICING Filed June 4, 1962 INVENTOR.

JOHN HENRY ROHDENBURG ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,097,474 APPARATUS FOR INSTRUCTION 1N ROPE SPLICING John Henry Rohdenburg, 62 Montauk Ave., Brooklyn 8, N.Y. Filed June 4, 1962, Ser. No. 199,852 1 Claim. (Cl. 57-23) This invention relates to the art of rope splicing, and more particularly to means to serve as an aid in instructing amateurs such as, for example, private boat owners, boatmen, boy scouts, etc. in the said art. Further, the invention provides a medium for the beginner to practice the making of numerous different splices or knots of which, as is well known, there is a wide variety.

An object of the invention is the provision of a length of rope formed of a number of twisted strands made of a strong synthetic plastic material, with the adjacent end portions of the strands at one end of the rope provided with a substantially rigid shell, preferably of metal, pressed about the strand to form it into a smooth stiff tip. The end of the strand thu covered by the shell is inserted into a hollow substantially cone-tipped needlelike guide, with means provided for locking the covered strand in the guide. For the purpose of the invention, each such glide, which is preferably made of molded synthetic plastic, has the same color as the strand to which it i attached.

With the aid of a stranded rope as above mentioned, together with instructions as to how to form various splices, a beginner may become well versed in the art so that he can apply his skill to actual rope splicing.

The invention is further inexpensive in cost of manufacture and durable over a long life.

The above as well as additional objects will be clarified in the [following description wherein reference numerals refer to like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawing. It is to be noted that the drawing is intended primarily for the purpose of illustration and that it is therefore neither desired nor intended to limit the invention necessarily to any or all of the details shown or described except insofar as they may be deemed essential to the invention.

Referring briefly to the drawing,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a length of stranded rope and accessory elements of the present invention, illustrating the making of an eye splice in the rope.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral indicates a length of rope which is preferably made of relatively strong flexible synthetic plastic material. The rope 10 is shown to be made up of three twisted strands 11, 12 and 13, each bearing a different contrasting color. For example, the strand 11 may be white, the strand '12 red, and the strand 13 black.

At one end of the rope the three strands are separated and each has pressed thereon a thin, preferably metallic shell 14 which entirely surrounds the strand and thus provides it with an unravelling smooth surface or finish. Detents 15 in the shell lock the shell to the strand. Thus the end of the strand may be said to be armored.

For each armored strand a tapering hollow guide 16 is provided, preferably made of molded synthetic plastic. The armored end of each strand, as illustrated in FIG. 2 for the strand 11, registers within the hollow of the guide. In order to securely but releasably lock the guide firmly on the strand, the armored end of the strand has a hole 17 extending diametrically therethrough, through both the shell and the strand. Through this hole a hollow internally threaded bolt 18 is passed from one end "ice thereof and a threaded screw 19 is passed threaded engagement with the hollow bolt. For this purpose the guide 16 has diametrically opposed holes 20 and 21 therein, which are aligned with the hole 17. The holes 20 and 21 are countersunk, as indicated in FIG. 2, so that the heads of the bolt and the screw lie below the cylindrical surface of the guide.

FIG. 1 shows the guide 16 attached to the strand 11, and the guide 16 is made of the same color as the strand 11. FIG. 1 also shows, but in phantom, a guide 16a attached to the strand 12, and a guide 16b attached to the strand 13. These guides 16a and 16b are to be understood also to bear the same color as the strand to which each is attached.

At the start of the splice forming operation, the rope 10 is of course a continuous length of rope, with the ends of the strands thereof, to which the guides are attached, extending from one end of the rope. It is not necessary to fully describe the steps involved in forming the eye splice shown in the drawing, but it should suffice to state that in forming the splice the extending ends of the strands are passed between the loops of certain strands in a serial manner in order to interlace the strands of the rope at that end between the strands of the rope on the main body of the rope. For this purpose the guides such as 16 serve the purpose of feeding the strands between the loops or coils of the main body, in that their tapering extremities easily enter between coils of the main body so that the strands attached thereto may readily be drawn through the coils. By having the guides and the respective strands to which they are attached of the same color, the operator may always be sure of following the directions for making the splice and passing the proper strand between the proper coils of the main body. Once a person has acquired suflicient. skill in the splicing operation with the aid of the present invention he can readily make the splice in an actual rope.

The invention may also be applied to actual ropes by tipping the strands with shells 14, providing the holes 17 therein, and attaching the guides 16 in the manner set forth. Thus the guides may be used for different splicing operations. However, since the invention is intended primarily for instruction or learning the art of splicing, it is desirable that the splice may be undone either to practice it over again or to practice another kind of splice. By removing the guides from the armored ends of the rope strands the strands may easily be pulled out to undo the splice, which would be difficult if not impossible in case the guides were permanently attached to the strands.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to the accompanying drawing, such is not to be construed as a limitation upon the invention which is best described in the attached claim.

I claim:

An apparatus for the purpose of instruction in rope splicing consisting of a length of rope formed of strands of synthetic plastic material, the rope having the strands at one end thereof unravelled, each of the strands at said end of the rope having a rigid shell surrounding the same and provided with detents penetrating the strand to secure the shell permanently to the strand thereby providing an armor thereon, a hollow cylindrical guide for each of said strands having an axial opening thereinto at one end thereof, each of the armored ends of the strands registering in the axial opening of one of said guides, the other ends of the guides having a taper, each of the strands and the guides secured thereto having a distinctive color, means for removably locking the guides on the armored ends of the strands, said means comprising a diametrical hole extending through the armored end of each of the strands, the guides each having diametrically aligned holes therethrough giving access to the axial opening therein, the guides being positioned on the strands with the holes of the guide aligned with the hole in the armored end of the strand to provide a through passage, and screwbolt means extending through said throughpassage comprising a hollow internally threaded bolt extending into said passage from one end thereof and a threaded screw threaded into said hollow bolt and extending thereinto from the opposite end of said passage the ,opposite ends of the aligned holes in the guides having countersinks, the heads ott-he bolt and the screw registering in the countersinks below the cylindrical surface of each of the guides.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 341,1'01 Frederick May 4, 1886 535,108; Helgesson Mar. 5, 1895 1,269,014 Stansbery June 11, 1918 2,208,124 Dunn July 16, 1940 2,394,884 Adrias Feb. 12, 1946 

